| From 23-25 November the VIRCLASS meeting took place in Bergen (Norway) hosted by the City of Bergen and Bergen University College. Managers and teacher from participating universities in the VIRCLASS project were invited to discuss the future for the VIRCLASS project. Eight of ten partner institutions were represented. The purpose for this meeting was to realize a new financial and administrative model for the future running of the VIRCLASS programme. So far the program has been funded by Norway Opening University (NUV), and by the Bergen University College. To be able to continue the courses also from autumn 2007 the funding needs to be realized by the partners themselves. It is also an option that the partner institutions should include the VIRCLASS e-learning programme Social Work in Europe as an optional course for students in their social work programme.
Bergen University College as project leader proposed a financial and administrative model for VIRCLASS and suggested to establish a VIRCLASS Consortium as a juridical entity for the next three years. All this has been discussed during the meeting. It is a fact that VIRCLASS is an international, innovative, unique and interesting program that also promotes the Bologna process, e-learning pedagogy, English language skills, as well as social work on an international European level. So far the project has been financed by project money and a lot of voluntary work from participating teachers and assessors. In the future the costs have to be paid by the partner institutions in addition to grants that might be possible to get for development of new elements in the VIRCLASS programme. This is the challenge we now have to deal with.
Partners agreed on signing the letter of intend where they committed themselves to work hard on realising future pedagogical, and financial involvement. All partners left Bergen with homework for realising the new financial and administrative model. Partners promised to give feedback at the proposed model, and after this the Board of VIRCLASS is going to prepare a final Consortium Agreement. Our plan is to establish the VIRCLASS Consortium by the 20th of March 2007. After that new courses can be advertised and prepared started also from autumn 2007.
f.l: Ulla Törnig, University of Applied Science Mannheim; Frederic Fredersdorf, University of Applied Science Vorarlberg, Cristina Quintas, Institute Miguel Torga, Coimbra; Christina Ljungqvist, School of Health Science, Jønkøping; Eli Bergsvik, Bergen University College; Ingrid Wegman, Inholland University, Haarlem; Manuel Serrano, University of Complutense, Madrid
|
